I am in love with this chili! It has such great depth of flavor and the great thing is, it is on plan for THM! You can make any of the three versions including a crossover (recipe below), S meal, or E meal! To turn this chili into an S meal for THM just take out the oatmeal. The texture will be just a little bit different but still delicious. To turn it into an E meal, leave the oatmeal in and use turkey instead of beef for the meat.
I first saw a version of this chili on a tv show. I knew I had to make it THM friendly. With a few tweaks I have a delicious chili that is sure to satisfy your cravings on a cool fall day. This chili has a few steps but it’s totally worth it.
To begin with, you’ll want to get the dried peppers into a stock pot and cover with water. Let them sit off the heat for 2 hours. After two hours have passed, go ahead and put them on medium heat and add the whole garlic cloves. Let it simmer for 30 minutes, then let it cool. Blend it (including the water) with the fresh oregano, strain well and set aside. This is your chili sauce! No need for chili powder! The flavor here is amazing!!
Just before you start the chili simmering go ahead and drop your whole tomatoes into a small pot, cover them with water and simmer on medium/low heat. Let those simmer for 30-45 minutes. Let them cool (I’m not a fan of blending hot liquids). Once cooled, blend the tomatoes with the remaining water. Set aside.
For your flavor you’ll add the spices and oatmeal together in a bowl and set aside to be added to the ground beef once it is cooked.
While the two pots are simmering you can brown your ground beef with onions and garlic. I add the onions and garlic after I brown it. Let the onions get cooked (about 10 mins) then add the spice blend. Let it simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.
Then pull it all together! Add your chile sauce and blended stewed tomatoes to your ground beef mixture!
This chili is delicious and not spicy! It has just a small amount of heat. The peppers that you buy are all mild or medium. None of them are hot so don’t be afraid. You can add sour cream and cheese when you serve it to help cool the heat if it’s too much for little ones. Our kids loved it though!
A quick note about the peppers. It took me forever to find dried Pasilla peppers. If you find dried Ancho peppers they can be a substitute for the pasilla peppers.
Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!
Trim Healthy Mama Chili Recipe with Crossover, S or E Meal Options
Ingredients
Chili Sauce
- 1 1/2 Dried California Peppers
- 1 1/2 Dried Pasilla Peppers
- 1 1/2 Dried Guajillo Peppers
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 1 T Fresh Oregano
Spice Blend:
- 1/3 Cup Oatmeal
- 1 T + 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 T + 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Ground Beef:
- 1 lb Ground Chuck
- 1/3 lb Ground Round
- 1/3 lb Ground Sirloin
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Plus You’ll Need
Stew 3-4 small/medium tomatoes (about 3/4 pound)
Instructions
To begin with you’ll want to get the dried peppers into a stock pot and cover with water. Let them set off the heat for 2 hours. After two hours has passed go ahead and put them on a medium heat and add the whole garlic cloves. Let it simmer for 30 minutes then let it cool. Blend it (including the water) with the fresh oregano, strain well and set aside. This is your chile sauce! No need for chile powder! The flavor here is amazing!!
Just before you start the chile’s simmering go ahead and drop your whole tomatoes into a small pot, cover them with water and simmer on medium/low heat. Let those simmer for 30-45 minutes. Let them cool (I’m not a fan of blending hot liquids). Once cooled, blend the tomatoes with the remaining water. Set aside.
For your flavor you’ll add the spices and oatmeal together in a bowl and set aside to be added to the ground beef once it is cooked.
While the two pots are simmering you can brown your ground beef with onions and garlic. I add the onions and garlic after I brown it. Let the onions get cooked (about 10 mins) then add the spice blend. Let it simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.
Then pull it all together! Add your chile sauce and blended stewed tomatoes to your ground beef mixture!
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